Pirates of Polokwane by Zapiro

Pirates of Polokwane (Zapiro's 2008 Satirical Cartoon Annual)

Zapiro's Sharp Political Cartoons from the Polokwane Conference and the Rise of Jacob Zuma

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Pirates of Polokwane: Cartoons from Mail & Guardian, Sunday Times, and Independent Newspapers
• Author: Zapiro
• Publisher: Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd, Auckland Park, South Africa
• Publication Date: 2008
• ISBN-13: 9781770095984
• Edition Details: First published 2008. Standard softcover release.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated glossy paperback wrappers, perfect bound, landscape format.
• Physical Format: Landscape-format medium softcover, fully illustrated with dated black and white cartoons and captions.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Wraps: The glossy illustrated wrappers are clean and bright, with slight edge rubbing to the front cover. A small white label sits at the far left edge of the front cover. The grey spine is clean and carries a retail price sticker near the foot. The back cover is clean, with a faint mark at the top.
• Interior: The pages are clean and white, with no foxing or markings. The binding is tight and square.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Pirates of Polokwane gathers the editorial cartoons of Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro) from the Mail & Guardian, the Sunday Times and Independent Newspapers. It was published by Jacana Media in 2008 as one of the cartoonist's annual collections.

The cartoons span the period around the 2007 ANC conference at Polokwane and the rise of Jacob Zuma, satirising the ruling party and prominent public figures. Each cartoon is dated and captioned, so the book reads as a running visual chronicle of a turbulent moment in South African politics. The back cover carries a comment from Anton Harber on the Lady Justice cartoon.

Zapiro's caricatures of Jacob Zuma have attracted scholarly attention, and this collection has been cited in academic writing on his work. It is a lively primary record of how South African political satire responded to the events of the day, of interest to collectors of political cartoons, modern South African history and Zapiro's own books.

Author Profile: Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro)

Jonathan Shapiro, known as Zapiro, was born in Cape Town in 1958 and studied architecture and graphic design before his conscription. He refused to bear arms and joined the anti-apartheid United Democratic Front, and designed the logo of the End Conscription Campaign. He later studied media arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York on a Fulbright scholarship.

He became editorial cartoonist of South in 1987 and of the Sowetan from 1994 to 2005, and has long contributed to the Mail & Guardian and the Sunday Times. His honours include the Prins Claus Fund Award (2005), the MISA Press Freedom Award (2009) and France's Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2019). Other books include Long Walk to Free Time (2004), Da Zuma Code (2006), The Mandela Files (2009) and VuvuzelaNation (2013).